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Death of One So Young
Chapter 1 "Stonepaw, you are only an apprentice! Stop thinking about her!" Mistyfur hissed to Stonepaw, her Amber eyes flaring with anger. "If you won't stop thinking about Grasspaw, you'll have to skip training and clean and feed the elders for a moon." Stonepaw, startled, backed off a few paces and mewed, ashamed, "Mistyfur, do you remember when Shadestem fell into the river and drowned? You loved him enough to tell Smokestar that you wanted to die as well. What can you say for me?" How does he know that? "Mistyfur!" The deep voice of Smokestar jolted Mistyfur backed to reality. "We'll finish talking tomorrow. Before then, go clean the nursery, and when you are done, I want to see you in the warrior's den at moonlight." She snarled as she stalked towards Smokestar, his tabby tail twitching with annoyance. Chapter 2 Stonepaw bounded out of the apprentices den and raced, full-pelt, towards the warrior's den. Mistyfur had told Stonepaw she wanted to talk to him and he had almost forgot until Grasspaw came to the apprentices den and sank into sleep. Stonepaw's paws ached by the time he had made it to the warrior's den. He peered inside through the hanging bullrush and saw Mistyfur's flanks heaving dramatically. He walked more inside and yelled, "Mistyfur is sick!" The medicine cat, Blackface, ran into the den, her mouth full of herbs. "What is the problem?" Stonepaw couldn't tear his gaze away from her. "She's dying, Blackface, help her!" Stonepaw cried. Blackface quickly started to massage Mistyfur's flanks; Stonepaw could see she had relaxed a little. "Will she live?" Stonepaw asked. Blackface's eyes were filled with sorrow. "I'm sorry Stonepaw. She goes to hunt with StarClan now." Chapter 3 His paws heavy, his eyes burning, Stonepaw padded over to Mistyfur's body and stretched his paws out in front of him. His toes just barely touched her cold gray fur, matted in clumps on her flanks. He buried his face between his arms, and closed his eyes. Almost exactly the same heartbeat, a rumbled breeze stirred his fur and a familiar scent swam over him. He put his nose to the ground and sniffed a paw print. Mistyfur. ''He bounded through the trees that barely squeezed him. Her scent wavered in the leaves. "Mistyfur! Where are you?" He raced on, strength flowing through his paws. He stopped suddenly; he noticed shapes moving in the trees. The first one to step out was a big black Tom. "Shadestem?" Stonepaw, obviously, was nervous. The black Tom nodded. "When I was young," he began. "I was chasing a dog. I was so proud of myself. But what I didn't know was the dog was heading for a stream. He swerved to the side and I fell in and drowned." His eyes glazed over with a sense of safety, yet Stonepaw could tell he shuddered inside, recalling that horrible memory. Chapter 4 Grasspaw leaped over a fallen branch in the camp and lightly padded to the apprentices den. "Stonepaw?" she asked. He stirred in his nest, his eyes tired. "What do you want?" he grumbled. "Let's go for a walk." Stonepaw said no more, just got up and shook out his fur. Grasspaw was already waiting for him by the fern tunnel. Her brown tabby pelt was nicely groomed, except for a clump of fur sticking up on her forehead. "Come on." she meowed quietly. Stonepaw reluctantly followed. Grasspaw wove her way through brambles and cobwebs, careful not to make a sound. Her steps were lively and quick; by the time they got to a clearing surrounded by thorns and rose bushes, Stonepaw was panting hard. "Are you ok?" Grasspaw asked. Stonepaw's only answer was a disturbed nod. "Look-- I am really sorry about what happened to Mistyfur. She was a great warrior and our ancestors will honor her forever." She gratefully dipped her head and sat down. "Why do you care what happens in my life?" he snarled, his claws scoring the earth. Grasspaw didnt flinch; instead she stood her ground. "I dont think you know, but Mistyfur was my mother. There is nothing to be ashamed of." ''Mistyfur was Grasspaw's mother? Why--- howcome she never told me? ''"Why didnt you ever tell me?" he whispered, his head spinning. Grasspaw's only response was a whimper. She turned her head and looked away. "The senior warriors will be wondering where we are. We had better get back to camp." Stonepaw gazed at her. "Right," he meowed, and bounded off into the trees, Grasspaw close on his heels. Chapter 5 "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey, join beneath the Darkrock for a sacred ceremony." Smokestar's deep meow rang through the clearing. Stonepaw padded sleepily out of his den, his pale eyes clouded and bleary with grief for Mistyfur. ''If only I could hear her coughing... No. The past is behind me. I have to keep a clear head and have straight paws. ''Stonepaw was the first to sit beneath the Darkrock; his best friend Grasspaw sat 7 foxlengths away from him. The queens Silverstripe and Tallwhisker, sat next to each other sharing tongues. Tallwhisker's mate, Stormcloud, sat next to her. ''I wish Grasspaw realized how much I love her. ' Keep your head clear and your paws straight' ''Shadestem's spirit seemed to say. The warriors, Waterpool, Feathersplash, and Streamwhisker all padded out of the warriors den and sat behind the apprentices. Waterpool whispered something to Grasspaw. Smokestar's bulky outline slowly got bigger as he exited his den and stood at the edge of the Darkrock. "I Smokestar, leader of RiverClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn." He gazed down at the apprentices, one and then the other. "Stonepaw, Grasspaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?" They both nodded importantly. Grasspaw was shaking every now ans then. "Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names. Stonepaw, from now on you shall be know as Stonebreeze in honor of your strength and confidence in battle." Stonebreeze looked around the Clan for Grasspaw, but she was already behind him, waiting for her name. "Grasspaw from now you shall be known Grassfern in honor of your compassion and understanding." Grassfern padded over to Stonebreeze and whispered, "We were never meant to be together." Chapter 6 "Come on Grassfern, your first kit is almost here." Blackface was encouraging Grassfern as she gave birth. Grassfern painted heavily and bit hard on the stick by her nose as an agonizing ripple passed through her. She let go of the stick and lay her head down. A slimy kit slipped out onto the moss near Grassfern's stomach. Stonebreeze started to lick the kick roughly backwards; he could feel his tiny heart beating. Stonebreeze nudged the little kit to Grassfern and he started to suckle. "He's so--" Her sentence ended in an agonized yowl. The stick splinter loudly as another tiny kit slipped out onto the moss. This time Blackface started to lick the kit. "Awe, it's another little Tom." Grassfern flinched as the tiny Tom's claws dug into her soft belly fur. "He's so strong." She managed to finish her sentence before another kit slipped onto the moss next to its brothers. "Its, it's,..." "What?" Grassfern sounded worried. "I-I don't know. I'm sorry" Blackface faced Grassfern. "This last kit was born dead. I'm sorry Grassfern. So very sorry." Grassfern angrily looked at her. "How would you understand? You are a medicine cat!" Blackface nodded. Chapter 7 Stonebreeze walked through the RiverClan camp. His kits were the first litter born in newleaf. He padded over to the nursery and peeped his head inside. His biggest kit, Blackkit, looked at him curiously. "ShadowClan warrior!" he howled with triumph and leaped at Stonebreeze. "Stonebreeze? Can you tell us the story of when you fought that dog when you were an apprentice?" His other kit, Tigerkit, bounced over to him. "Yeah momma was just telling us all about the time you--" Tigerkit looked over Stonebreeze's shoulder and whispered, "What's that?" The big gray Tom turned around; his vision was clouded by flashes of blood red light. Massive paws knocked the wind out of him and everything around him started to grow fuzzy."Listen to the wind. The time has come. Your heart will tell you the way." Mistyfur and Shadestem appeared at the opposite side of the camp. The disappeared after a heartbeat. Stonebreeze staggered with confusion. "Are you ok?" Grassfern's voice sounded behind him. Stonebreeze nodded wearily. "WindClan warrior-tunnel-nursery, help the elders-prey," he mumbled and collapsed on Blackkit. "Mmph, get off- oh!" Blackkit ran into the nursery and told Grassfern. "Stonebreeze fell on me." Grassfern ran as fast as StarClan over to Stonebreeze. "You can't leave me Stonebreeze, you are all I have left of Mistyfur." Brown fur appeared out of the corner of her eye. "Get back! Move out of my way!" Blackface shouted. Tigerkit bounded out of the nursery. "No!" He whimpered. "He'll be fine. He just collapsed from shock. But he can't go back to warrior duties. Waterpool, Grassfern, bring him to my den." They picked Stonebreeze up carefully and brought him to the medicine den. Grassfern lay next to him as if she were mourning. "Grassfern you need to leave." Blackface whispered. Grassfern got up with one final look at Stonebreeze and padded out of the den, the bramble tendrils swishing behind her. Chapter 8 "Hey, Tigerkit!" Blackkit howled to his brother. Tigerkit spun around in time to dodge a flying ball of moss. "I'll play later, Blackkit, I have to clean out this moss for the elders." Blackkit looked crestfallen, but proudly announced, loud enough for the whole camp to hear, "At least I don't have to clean out stinky bedding and bring prey to cats who are going to die anyway." Shocked meows fluttered through the cats who heard. "What?" "How could he say such a thing?" "Test his loyalty!" "Those are the elders he is talking about!" Blackkit looked around the camp at the cats who were wide eyed with shock. He looked at Stonebreeze, who looked at him from the medicine den. "We all know most kits don't like the chores they have to do," Smokestar snowed from the Darkrock when he could be heard. "But that doesn't mean being disrespectful to your elders." He eyed Stonebreeze at the medicine den. "Blackkit, what do you say for yourself?" He looked at Smokestar and imitated him. "I say," he began loudly. "Do what you want. You can not exile a kit, for StarClan will be angry." Smokestar looked at the kit with wide eyes. "Blackkit is now confined to the camp for three moons for answering back to the leader and mocking him with disrespect." Chapter 9 Stonebreeze protectively hunched himself over his two kits. Wind blasted his face and snowflakes made his whiskers sparkle. Stonebreeze looked at his two kits, cowering below him. Blackkit was shivering, while Tigerkit crouched down and dug his face into his paws. "Guys stay awake. You can't sleep knowing StarClan is angry. Look before you. Your ancestors are in front of you." He looked up and saw Mistyfur and Shadestem, their shadowy spirits sparkling; he envied their thick fur. Still standing in silence, Blackkit howled to the whirling snow, "StarClan stop it!" He squealed and ran back to the nursery. "Blackkit no!" Mistyfur padded up to him. "He will suffer great consequences as he grows, but leave him be for now. He is only a kit. He will learn." Stonebreeze nodded. "I know, I know, but he has to learn to shut his mouse trap when StarClan is here." He looked up and realized that Grassfern was listening. "What was that? What did she say?" Stonebreeze shook his head. "Nothing." He replied, a growl starting deep in his throat. Chapter 10 "StarClan sas spoken to me!" Smokestar announced. He looked at his Clanmates. "One cat today will die with honor. That cat is among us now. Seek him in which you will prove your worth." The Clan huddled in a tight circle; Stonebreeze guessed they were just trying to keep warm, but he could hear talking too. "Who do you think it is?" Waterpool asked worriedly. "I honestly don't know." Tallwhisker asnwered. "What do you think?" Stonebreeze looked up and realized they were talking to him. "I---er--- I think, it should be..." The gathered cats looked away. Stonebreeze huffed a sigh of relief. "It's ok. Classmates usually stick to the older warriors until, like Smokestar said, you prove your worth." Stonebreeze flinched as he realized Shadestem, Mistyfur, Grassfern, and Mistyfur's sister, Silverbite had come to sit next to him. "Don't give up." Mistyfur whispered. "Everything that seems impossible, always has an answer." Silverbite soothed; Stonebreeze looked at her and realized she had bites all along her nose. Chapter 11 Tigerkit was dreaming. He ran through a forest, lush with ferns and brambles and filled with the scent and sound of prey under his paws. He sat down and washed his face. Leaves stirred around him. "Listen to the wind! The time has come! Your heart will tell you the way!" He spun around and saw a figure. "Why are you here?" the figure demanded. "I- I don't know." Tigerkit stuttered. "I'm Hawkfrost." The Tom told him. "I'm Tigerkit." The bold kit sounded more confident. "Come back here tomorrow. I've got something for you. Go back to sleep now young kit. A battle awaits you." Tigerkit lay down and closed his eyes. He woke back up curled next to Blackkit;''a battle awaits you. Hawkfrost's words rang sharply in his ears. Chapter 12 Tigerpaw, now an apprentice, stood on the border between StarClan and the Dark Forest. "Hawkfrost? Im here." he called out to the trees. A big brown tabby tom padded up to him. His amber eyes shined in the dim light. "Im Tigerstar. You are Tigerkit. Ive heard alot about you." Tigerpaw looked at him. "Im Tiger''paw'' now. Im an apprentice." he squeaked. Tigerstar growled. "We are not here to play. Hawkfrost brought you here because he saw potential in you. If he was wrong, I am going to have a stern word with him." Tigerstar waved his tail for Tigerpaw to follow. He wove his way through moldering trees, covered in a slimy layer of moss. No birds sang, no moonlight flitted through the trees. The only thing Tigerpaw noticed was Tigerstar's breath, his pawsteps and his own, and the lappy of murky water at the shore beside him. Tiger stopped and turned. "We are going to train today." meowed Tigerstar. He reared up on one leg, swinging his paws through the air, claws extended. He twisted midleap, and landed squarely on Tigerpaw's shoulders, driving the breath out of him. Get out of there! You do not belong here! '' A silver she cat appeared on the shore fox lengths away. She had bites along the bridge of her nose. ''Silverbite? ''Tigerstar got off of him and turned around, seeing Silverbite. His tone was unexpectedly soft. "Hello, Silverbite. Why are ''you ''here?" Silverbite got up and padded closer to Tigerpaw. "He does not belong with you. Tigerpaw, they are using you to---" Her words were cut off short as Tigerstar sprang at her. She fell to the ground, Tigerstar's claws ready to slash her throat. "No!" Tigerpaw yowled and thrust himself between the throng of cats. "Oomph--- get off you lump of fur." He snarled to Tigerstar. "What did you say, ''worm?" His voice was full of mock anger; apparently, he didnt care what the apprentice thought of him. Chapter 13 Tigerstar sat down and looked at him; his eyes creeped Tigerpaw out. "Tigerpaw, there was one thing I was told when I too was an apprentice: You cannot live with a paw in each world. Choose: The Dark Forest, or StarClan?" He spat out the last words like a piece of crowfood. He looked at Silverbite, who sat shaking near a tree stump. He looked back at Tigerstar. "I know one other thing: I was told so many great stories about you. You were amazing and independent in battle. But I want to be taught by a great warrior, ''not a ''murderer." Tigerpaw nudged Silverbite to her paws and headed towards StarClan. "I will get my revenge, sooner than you expect, you lousy lump of fur!" He growled and stalked off into the trees. "Thank you Tigerpaw. You showed great courage today." Tigerpaw looked at her. "Really?" But when he looked at her she gazed silently into the trees, whispering: "Listen to the wind. The time has come. Your heart will tell you the way." Tigerpaw gasped. "What do you mean?" he squealed. Silverbite said no more. She vanished like mist. Tigerpaw woke up, Blackpaw snoring softly next to him. Chapter 14 "Tigerpaw, you shall now be known as Tigerstripe, in honor of your confindence and enthusiasum." Tigerstripe fidgeted with excitement as his Clanmates shouted his new name. But there was something wrong with Smokestar and Blackface, oddly whispering to each other. "Blackpaw, you shall now be known as Blacknose, in honor of your black nose and your individuality when it comes to Clan clashes and border skirmishes. You know when to stop, you make up your own moves as you go along, and you also know when there is no need for a skirmish." Blacknose was embarrased at being singled out by his leader. Smokestar straightened and quickly announced, "Tigerstripe. Would you care for your Clan as you would as a warrior, to have more confidence and wisdom than any other warrior if you were to be deputy?" Tigerstripe heard gasps from his Clanmates, there eyes wide with shock. "He is way too young!" said Waterpool. The queen Tallwhisker whispered, "He will be a great deputy. Just give him time." His mother, Grassfern, padded up to him. "Even though Stonebreeze is now a senior warrior and I am expecting a new litter, you will always my kit." She licked him between his ears and stalked over to the nursery. Tigerstripe glanced over his shoulder and saw Tigerstar, staring at him with cold eyes through the trees. Though no other cat could tell, Tigerstar shouldered his way through the crowd. Tigerstripe looked up at the Darkrock, and saw Smokestar staring wide-eyed at him. Tigerstripe yelled all the way to StarClan, "The Dark Forest is attacking!" He screeched and leaped on top of Tigerstar, who writhed under him. "Who's the murderer now?" he sneered. Raising his paw, claws extended, he slashed at Tigerstar's throat ripping it out. Tigerstar writhed and squirmed in agony as he lay panting, dying in the clearing in front of him. All around him, claws ripped and cats screeched, knocking each other to the ground and painfully killing them. "How could you?" Tigerstar whispered as he dissapeared like mist. The next book that succeeds this story is Long Way From Home(story)